Expression of Language Etiquette in Russian Folktales

Home , Russian fairy tale, The Frog Princess

Expression of Language Etiquette in Russian Folktales Ildiko Csajbok-Twerefou, Department of Modern Languages, University of Ghana Yuriy Dzyadyk, Department of Modern Languages, University of Ghana

Abstract Using different methods of analysis, this paper examines maxims of language etiquette, such as request, address forms and greetings in selected Russian folktales. Though language etiquette as a segment of politeness has its standards, it is dynamic, so it varies due to political, social, economic or cultural factors. Yet, folktales as a source of customs and beliefs, constitute an integral part of cultural heritage, serve as a means of upbringing, and play an important role in the linguistic development of a person. In Russia, expressions of politeness found in folktales are applied in accordance with the current requirements of Russian society.

Keywords: Politeness, folklore, culture, language.

Introduction

Culture, traditions, language, and folklore are strongly related to each other and vary from nation to nation. Knowing the culture of a society, one may be acquainted with the traditions, language and folklore of that particular society, since culture encompasses all of them. The word folklore can be translated as “knowledge of people”. When referring to folklore in general, one may think about different genres, such as music, dance, tales, arts, crafts, etc. Usually, folklore is characterized by its collectiveness, since it is made on the earlier established traditions and standards of a society, taking into consideration its requirements and perceptions (Keszeg 2008). On the other hand, folklore is a piece of art, which exists not only by means of verbal units, but it often includes gestures, theatrical elements, dancing and singing. As such, folklore is a sophisticated multi-component and collective art, which is developed over a long period of time. Once created, it is passed to other generations and sometimes to other nations. One of the common elements of different genres of folklore is anonymity, since their authors are unknown. Folklore is an integrated part of each society, so are language etiquette and folktales. The discussion of expression of language etiquette in folktales is based on the importance of polite speech in everyday life. Folktales, as a source of customs and beliefs well known to generations of a society, contain many elements of politeness. This paper demonstrates that folktales not only entertain, but also teach different aspects of behaviour, for example, the use of polite speech. After a short introduction, this article discusses folktales and politeness in general. It is followed by the overview of the methodology of the paper and the analysis of maxims of language etiquette, such as request, address forms and greetings in selected folktales. Some challenges during the translation of Russian folktales into English are examined. The paper concludes that although most of the phrases used to express politeness in the folktales could be considered as archaic, native speakers follow a similar pattern in their communication today.

Folktales

Folktales could be considered as one of the most popular genres of folklore. They derive their stories from real-life phenomenon, unlike fairytales, which are made up of fiction and always involve magical and/or mythical creatures such as dragons, witches, mermaids, or dwarfs. A folktale is a wonderful masterpiece of mankind, which brings humans to an upper level, makes them rejoice, attracts and entertains, encourages them to struggle for their aim, and helps them achieve unbelievable things. A folktale is an obviously impossible (oral) story about magic, adventure or domestic nature that may contain elements of fantasy. It can often be a speaking animal or a miraculously moving object, which helps the hero to succeed. Though some researchers do not differentiate between folktales and fairytales, apart from the already mentioned real-life phenomenon versus fiction, there are other differences between them. While fairytales are written forms of literature, folktales were orally transferred from one generation to another. However, in recent times, folktales have taken a written form, and are available for the public. They often have different versions. It is also important to notice that there is more active conflict resolution in folktales than in fairytales. In folktales the characters resolve conflict using their human capacities, and therefore, survive through planned strategies that reflect real situations. In fairytales, the major characters are often helpless and can survive only with the help of minor characters, i.e. mythical beings. Also, in fairytales the aristocracy in most cases is described in a brighter way than in folktales (Celine 2017). Finally, in a folktale the setting is in a familiar world, such as villages, homes, real forests, which can be placed in a magic environment, while in fairytales the setting is already mythical (Eckart 2018). According to Petrolay (1996: 7) folktales appeared many years ago and have become an integral part of the cultural heritage of different nations being the source of customs and beliefs of the societies. Irrespective of the type of folktale, they may have different versions, as they were born from history, and from time to time were shaped to correspond to new events. The feudal Middle Ages, for example, enriched the treasury of tales with many new elements such as castles, kings, princesses, or with new instruments of torture. The New Age brought new venues, where the miraculous stories were happening; instead of ‘Far, Far Away’ the characters were living in villages or towns, they went to markets, shops, pubs. Indeed, history and social order are truly represented in folktales. Petrolay (1996) argues that characters like stepmothers and old women refer to matriarchal systems of some earlier societies. Based on the above, folktales can be compared to feature films, since both provide a message of the socio-cultural background of people, information about the reality of appearance, about the language and speech, and about the characters (Csajbok-Twerefou 2010). Looking at the types of folktales, one may agree with Keszeg (2008), who connects them with their initial appearance: those folktales which earlier were part of the ritual practices later became magic tales; while those which in the past portrayed totem animals are today the folktales about animals impersonating morals. This opinion, however, may also be challenged, since there are folktales about animals which do not teach morals. One of them is the Hungarian Cat and Mouse, which can rather be considered as morbid (Arany 2017).

Therefore, it is no wonder that previously, folktales were not really meant for (only) children, but rather for adults. It can be easily proved, just by having a look, for example, at some Hungarian folktales collected by Laszlo Arany1, which contain words, phrases and other elements which are not ‘written’ for children. The same could be said about the tales of the famous Grimm brothers, where in some cases the tales are loaded with a number of dreadful scenes2. Indeed, in most cases, folktales were used to entertain adults. They were often told in the evenings, after working on the farms far from peoples’ homes. As they entertain, they also connect with history, with other people giving hope and desire. Nevertheless, in many parts of the world one may find folktales as an inseparable element of upbringing: various (folk)tales were and are used to teach children moral lessons, and this is not by accident. Basically, in most folktales there are good and bad characters, and in the end, the good one wins, while the bad one is punished. Apart from that, folktales play an instructive role: they teach moral cleanness, honesty, kindness, mercy, and wisdom. Children can absorb these features while listening to the folktales told by their parents and grandparents. As soon as a child is old enough to be interested in other people's destiny, tales can teach them different feelings, such as concern about others, compassion, justice, courage, loyalty; they also teach listeners and readers to hate the repressive violence and acquire the optimism which they will need in the future in the fight against evil powers (Petrolay 1996: 6). In some countries (Russia, Ukraine, Hungary), childhood would be incomplete without folktales. In some families, there is a tradition to include a (folk)tale in the child’s daily activities. Before going to bed, children look forward to hearing a new story about heroic actions of brave warriors, about kings and princes, or about episodes when the good takes over the bad. Some of these bedtime-stories are read from books, while others are told by heart, since the teller (father, mother, grandparents or siblings, etc.) knows those stories from his/her own childhood. Furthermore, in most countries, folktales are part of the school curricula, as they are part of the cultural heritage. Personalities of folktales are famous; therefore, they can be used to demonstrate culturally accepted behaviour. In most cases, the same folktale character has the same behaviour, nature and virtue in most of the other folktales the character appears. Based on this, the authorities of Moscow came out with a beautiful idea; they created a prospectus for foreigners to demonstrate the expected behaviour in Moscow in particular, and in Russia in general (Moscow Municipality 2017). As discussed above, the same folktale may have many interpretations, and therefore, the same story can be told by different authors. But all of those tales are meant to be introduced to readers. Consequently, a folktale teller is not a mere performer, but rather an actor who adds something new in order to enrich the folktale. Hence, in recent days, there are several collections of folktales where the same stories are gathered by different authors. Interestingly, sometimes similar characters and their stories are claimed to belong to different cultures. It is not by chance. Folktales were created in one area, and then adapted by people in another one. There, they might have absorbed the features and local folk traditions of the new environment, as well as implemented local traditions and local colouring. This is one of the reasons why at times, one can come across similar plots in folktales of different countries. It happens due to similar traits in the life of these nations, common psychology, conditions and rules of socio-historical and socio-cultural development. Today, folktales of other nations are translated into many languages. They have become a world achievement, the heritage of the universal culture: without them the

World cultures would not exist. In the 21st century, many collections of World folktales have been translated into several languages.

Politeness

Though politeness as a phenomenon is not old, currently, it is considered to be an active component of each culture. It has several rules in accordance with the beliefs and traditions of nations; yet, the principles of polite behaviour are still changing. By means of politeness one shows that they have a particular culture of behaviour or culture of communication. The strategy of politeness can be seen in different forms: negative or positive, relative or absolute. Every type of politeness contains a certain form of speech act that is expressed in apologies, gratitude, etc. Politeness is a manifestation of respect, while rudeness is a distortion of etiquette norms, since in the latter case an addressee gets less respect or attention than he/she deserves in accordance with his/her position, status or qualities. There are various ways to express politeness verbally and non-verbally. The verbal expressions are language specific, while the non-verbal ones are culture specific. In the Russian language, for example, they are represented by lexical means (спасибо [spasibo] ‘thank you’, пожалуйста [pozhalusta] ‘please/ you are welcome’) and grammatical categories of number or person (Вы [vi] ‘you’- official form), etc. The Russian language has two forms of the personal pronoun you: the formal and the informal one. It is easy to understand this phenomenon for those who know the French language, since the forms tu/vous exist in it. The Russian form ты [ty] is used to address friends or family members that are in close relations, while Вы/вы [vy] is used when addressing older people, teachers, officers (singular form that is written in capital letter) and also two or more people (plural form). It should be taken into account that in Russian it is impolite/rude, if a person uses inappropriate forms of you in particular situations, e.g. when addressing a lecturer (Csajbok-Twerefou I. 2016, Dzyadyk 2017). However, the informal version of you ‘ты [ty]’ is used in the Russian folktales, when characters address kings, parents, servants or people of different age groups, because in the old Russian language it was typical to use the informal version. For centuries, the Russian people had been using it. In the 18th century, Russian Tsar Peter I introduced the European manner of behaviour. Consequently, Western European formal form appeared. The plural form signified that even though you are ‘one’, your worth equals to ‘many’. The collision between two forms was inevitable, often creating comic speech situations. Supporters of purity of the Russian language were against new borrowings that were not typical of the originality of the Russian language. The Russian lexicographer of the 19th century V. I. Dal called this address form ‘distorted politeness’ (искаженная вежливость) and persuaded that it was better to use an informal form but with respect than a formal form and have a wicked intension (Dal 2001). Nowadays, official language is used in official environments, but the informal lexical unit of you ‘ты [ty]’ is still used in villages or among neighbours of the same block of flats in towns when addressing an older person. In accordance with family tradition, however, it sometimes happens that children address parents using the formal version of ‘you’ - вы [vy]. As mentioned earlier, non-verbal expressions of politeness are mainly culture specific. Apart from that, however, they may also have psychological and ‘therapeutic’ influences on the listener’s personality. For example, in Russia women are not indifferent to

34 the manifestation of courtesy by men, while men are delighted when they are supported and appreciated by women. These actions can be expressed non-verbally and they are culture specific. While such acts may be considered as polite in Russia, in another society, they may be rather interpreted as a kind of harassment. Simultaneously, what seems to be polite is not only culture specific, but it is also time specific. The world changes and so do moral values. Attitudes towards what is good and what is bad undergo transformations too (Belik 2012). The new era, characterized by the technological innovation, influences the lives of people, and, consequently, new approaches to moral standards appear on how one should address people so that he/she will be pleased and respected (Goldin 2009, Akishina 1991); how one should behave in public places, schools, studios, restaurants, on radio and TV (Nesterova 2011); what one needs to give to others as a gift, and how one must react when receiving gifts; the right way to smile; how to say ‘no’ without offending the feelings of others (Yershova 2000); and finally how gestures help to express mood (Agafonova 2009). Family relations, work, pastime in summer houses, business etiquette, etiquette of telephone conversation – are now widely discussed and analyzed topics (Arova 1998; Akishina 2000; Vvedenskaya 2002). The word etiquette originated in France. We understand it as “a set of behaviour that is standardized according to the conventions and expectations of a society, nation, social group, and that are based on traditions and heritage” (Csajbok-Twerefou 2016: 200). The first teachings on morality appeared thousands of years ago. Both etiquette and language etiquette (implemented in a certain language situation as a complex of external conditions of communication and internal reaction of communicants) are established in social norms of behaviour that regulate and reveal relations between members of society: a stranger – a relative, distant (person) – close (person), familiar – unfamiliar, pleasant – unpleasant (Formanovskaya 2005: 37, 72). Russian linguist V. G. Kostomarov introduced the term “language etiquette” in the Russian philology in 1967 (Kostomarov 1967). His followers, Akishina (1991), Goldin (2009), Formanovskaya (2005), developed and modernized studies on politeness. “Language etiquette can be considered as a set of linguistic forms used to express politeness, while by politeness we understand the correct use of early acquired manners, taught from childhood and having roots in family background” (Csajbok-Twerefou 2016: 201). Therefore, language etiquette is one of the constituents of national culture which is responsible for preservation of ethnicity and statehood.

Methodology

During the research, sixteen of the most popular Russian folktales were studied in their original language and compared with their English translations. Russian and English versions were downloaded from the Internet. In cases, where websites were not presented, the original oral tradition of Russian folktales and the authors’ translation were used, though most folktales were translated by Vera Xenophontovna Kalamatiano de Blumenthal (Kalamatiano de Blumenthal 1903). In the examples, the original Russian version in italics is used first, followed by the transliteration of the expressions in square brackets [ ]; the English translation is used in the last position of each model in single quotation marks ‘ ’ . The title of a folktale and its English version are also represented in italics. In case of realia, the explanation is given in curly brackets { }. In general, Russian folktales can be split into three groups:

Group 1: Folktales about animals – Лисичка-сестричка и Серый Волк [Lisichka- sestrichka i Seryj Volk] Sister Fox and Brother Wolf; Лисичка и Журавль [Lisichka i Zhuravl’] The Fox and the Crane; Колобок [Kolobok] The Bun {a baked bread in the shape of a ball that comes to life and runs away}; Group 2: Folktales about magic objects – Волшебное кольцо [Volshebnoe kol'co] The Magic Ring; Царевна-Лягушка [Tzarevna-Ljagushka] The Frog Princess; Баба -Яга [Baba-Jaga] Baba Yaga {a supernatural deformed woman with a big hooked nose that flies in a mortar and lives in a deep forest in a hut on a hen’s legs}; Group 3: Folktales about relations in the family and everyday life of human beings – Сестрица Аленушка и братец Иванушка [Sestrica Alenushka i bratec Ivanushka] Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka; Семь Симеонов [Sem' Simeonov] Seven Simeons; Иванушка-дурачок [Ivanushka-durachok] Ivanoushka the Simpleton; Димиан крестьянин [Dimian krest'janin] Dimian the Peasant; Поди туда – не знаю куда, принеси то – не знаю что [Podi tuda – ne znaju kuda, prinesi to – ne znaju chto] Go I Know Not Whither and Fetch I know Not What; Горе-богатырь [Gore-bogatyr'] Woe Bogotir{Russian warrior}; Птичий язык [Ptichij jazyk] The Language of the Birds; Морозко [Morozko] Morozko {Father Frost}; Золотая гора [Zolotaja gora] The Golden Mountain; Золотая рыбка [Zolotaja rybka] Golden Fish. For the purpose of this study, most tales were selected from Group 3, since the emphasis is on the analysis of language etiquette and the most appropriate examples can be found in the speech samples of humans.

Analysis of maxims and discussion

Although folktales are based on real-life phenomenon, and the environment, in most cases, is well described, they reflect poetic imagination. The characters live and act in a specific time or space. Therefore, Russian folktales often begin:

1. В тридевятом/тридесятом царстве, в тридевятом/тридесятом государстве [V tridevjatom/tridesjatom carstve, v tridevjatom/tridesjatom gosudarstve]. ‘In a Thrice-Ninth Land/Thrice-Tenth kingdom’. (The Magic Ring). 2. В некотором царстве, в некотором государстве жил да был (жил-был)…[V nekotorom carstve, v nekotorom gosudarstve zhil da byl (zhil-byl)]. ‘In a certain realm, in a certain land, there once lived…’ (Princess Frog). 3. На море на океане, на острове на Буяне стояла небольшая ветхая избушка: в той избушке жили старик да старуха [Na more na okeane, na ostrove na Bujane stojala nebol'shaja vethaja izbushka: v toj izbushke zhili starik da staruha]. ‘Once upon a time, on the island of Buyan, there stood a small tumble-down cottage and in that cottage dwelt an old man and woman’. (Golden Fish).

Nonetheless, traces of flora and fauna of the country in which a particular folktale appeared, clearly demonstrate the real-life phenomenon of folktales. One can also come across national clothes, household things, rituals and features of national psychology; kings and princes, ministers and judges, educated and non-educated people are present in folktales. Sometimes, contrary to the norms expected, the same character can play different roles (positive or negative) in different tales, especially in folktales about animals, most especially the Fox. Animals of folktales with their speech and behaviour resemble humans. Since

36 folktales always reflect a nation’s life, in a hidden way they become a mirror of human actions and their society. Folktales about animals (Group 1) appeared a long time ago and were connected with activities such as fishing, farming, or hunting. People granted the animals with human features, so animals could talk with each other and comprehend human speech. Friendship or quarrels between the animals in wildlife can be observed. Even though the main characters of these folktales are animals, humans are taken into account, since mainly the key motive of the stories is the desire for social justice: often a small animal becomes a winner due to its wisdom and practical skills. Folktales about magic objects (Group 2) present a positive character, who is assisted either with magic objects or magic assistants such as a cat, a dog or other animals. Apart from the main character, there are other ones as well. Those characters can be divided into several groups in accordance with their functions in the plot: an evil one, that does harm to a positive character; a stolen object/person, like a ring or a princess; a sender – a character that sends the hero in search of a stolen object/person; a fake character – the one who wants to have benefit from the actions of a positive character; a character-winner – a real idol who gets victory over evil; a character that makes a magic gift – gives a magic instrument or assistant, like a dog, which was saved by the main character and which in the future helps him to achieve an aim. (For example, the seventh Simeon takes a cat that can do tricks and helps him; a bear, a duck, a hare, a fish help Ivan Tsarevitch to find his wife, etc.). Folktales about family relations and everyday life of human beings (Group 3) describe the class that is in power. The tale teller makes fun of them. Such characters as Ivanoushka the Simpleton are representatives of the ordinary people, and their attitudes to their masters are described in folktales. Ivan is a fool, but he is successful in all ways of life. He entertains others and is liked in the society of those oppressed.

Translation of the folktales

During the analysis of the original versions of certain folktales and their translations, some differences were identified. The folktales appeared some centuries ago and were polished over a period of time. Some details were added, some information changed, and some new characters were introduced in the plot. The original language of the folktales represents the particular period in which they appeared. Since languages undergo development and changes, often new vocabulary is introduced, and while some lexical units become archaisms, others face semantic shift. In the case of the studied folktales, the original texts were simplified for modern readers to understand them. In order to achieve this goal, some compromise was made in order not to lose originality and to adapt the epoch of the folktale to modern society. In some segments, old Russian words were skipped (though most of them were in the Slavonic language), and instead, modern words were introduced. Consequently, the English translation had to be flexible as well, trying to keep to originality. Though Russian and English belong to the same language family, they belong to different language groups and sub-groups; therefore, it is sometimes difficult to present an artistic translation for each lexical unit. Thus, the translator used the Old English verb tense forms and pronouns in direct speech (thy, thee, art, hark, hail) to compensate for the lack of ‘ancient flavour’ in the English texts by means of lexical interchange, even though these units do not directly belong to the Russian version.

In the English version the translator used transliteration of some lexical units that characterize national items of clothing, housing, food and ranks on purpose, to feel the reality of the Russian life (izba-a hut; schouba-a fur coat; sarafan-a long dress; shchi- cabbage soup; moujik-a peasant; boyar-a noble man; tsar-a king; tsaritza/tsarevna-a queen or a king’s wife; tsarevitch-a prince). Such an endeavour is justified and is undertaken with the specific aim: to fill the niche which made a challenge for a translator, as well as to keep the “folklore”. However, translators should be careful with the use of transliteration, since some criticism might arise because readers, especially children, will not understand the story if there are too many words and phrases of such kind, and finally will lose any interest in foreign (Russian) folktales. On the other hand, Russian native speakers accept edited (simplified) versions of folktales, and children are taught to understand those words that transfer the language heritage of the nation. Even though some of the lexical units are not used anymore in everyday speech, in this way, natives are taught how to respect the cultural legacy of their ancestors. Also, while reading folktales to their children, parents become mediators between a narrator and a recipient, and at the same time children acquire knowledge in the process.

Expressions of Language Etiquette

The most typical phenomena in the studied folktales are: greetings, address forms and requests. As it happens in real life, greetings establish contact in the folktales; address forms express relations between interlocutors, and requests are used to motivate the interlocutor for an action. During the analysis of the folktales, we identified similarities and differences in greetings that cover the period between the centuries when the tales appeared and years of modern society. The traditional ‘hello’, ‘good morning/day’ were often used:

4. ‘Здравствуй, добрый молодец’ [Zdravstvuj, dobryj molodec].– ‘Good day, brave fellow’ (The Frog Princess). 5. ‘Здравствуй, дочь моя’ [Zdravstvuj, doch' moja].– ‘Welcome my dear daughter’ (The Magic Ring).

However, in certain cases more ancient forms of greetings are used. Some of them are quite out of date, and they would sound funny nowadays:

6. ‘Что вы за люди такие есть, какого роду и звания?’ [Chto vy za ljudi takie est', kakogo rodu i zvanija?] – ‘What kind of people are you whose field is so well cultivated?’ (Seven Simeons). 7. ‘Здравствуй, добрый человек!’ — ‘Здравствуйте, купцы чужеземные! Милости просим ко мне, погуляйте, повеселитесь, роздых возьмите: нарочно для заезжих гостей и беседка выстроена [‘Zdravstvuj, dobryj chelovek!’ — ‘Zdravstvujte, kupcy chuzhezemnye! Milosti prosim ko mne, poguljajte, poveselites', rozdyh voz'mite: narochno dlja zaezzhih gostej i besedka vystroena]. -’Hail, good man!’— ‘Hail, ye wayfaring merchants, ye men of many marts! Be so good as to turn in to me, stroll about at your ease, make merry and repose; this pleasure- house was built expressly for guests that come by sea!’ (Go I know Not Whither).

The following expressions will not be considered as a polite behavior at present; in the studied folktales, the character starts to present the issue instead of greeting another person. The initial phrases replace greetings and are used as quasi-greetings:

8. ‘Гой есте (Вы), гады и рыбы морские’ [‘Goj este (Vy), gady i ryby morskie’] - ‘Hark! (Listen) Ye fishes and creeping things of the sea’. (Go I know Not Whither). 9. ‘Послушай, стрелец,— говорит он [комендант],— скажи мне по правде по истинной, откуда добыл ты такой славный ковер?’ [‘Poslushaj, strelec,— govorit on [komendant],— skazhi mne po pravde po istinnoj, otkuda dobyl ty takoj slavnyj kover?’] - ‘Hearken, archer !’ Said he [the steward], ‘tell me the real truth; where didst thou get this lordly carpet?’ (Go I know Not Whither).

In modern Russian society, if people start a conversation with phrases that replace direct greetings, they will be considered as impolite and they might lack any basics of cultural education.

10. ‘Колобок, Колобок, я тебя съем!’ [Kolobok, Kolobok, ja tebja s#em!] – ‘Little Bun, Little Bun, I shall eat you up!’ (The Bun). 11. ‘Тепло ли тебе, девица/красная?’ [Teplo li tebe, devica/krasnaja?] – ‘Are you warm, dear?’/ ‘Art thou comfortable, sweet child?’ (Morozko).

This latter phrase was used by Morozko when he saw a girl in the forest. It replaced the greeting and it can be related to the fact that the ancient court traditions had their own etiquette rules. Nothing was odd about using the non-verbal forms of greetings: bows replaced initial greetings. The character started the conversation with the discussion of the matter, using different address forms, as we can see in the conversation below between the princess and the king, who was informed that they have visitors. In some nations, while meeting a friend or relative, long prostrations start and replace the greetings:

12. ‘Милостивый батюшка-государь, купцы заморские посетили нас’ [Milostivyj batjushka-gosudar', kupcy zamorskie posetili nas]. – ‘Father and king, there have come to visit us some foreign merchants’/ ‘Dear father, mighty king and sovereign’ (Seven Simeons).

Another common type across the genres of language etiquette is the (verbal) request, which can point to polite behaviour irrespective of the relations between the interlocutors, since the structure of the request consists of the following components: apology + polite words + the request itself. A request made without an apology and, moreover, without a polite word, is considered improper and rude. In this research, however, examples of such a structure were not discovered: forms, such as ‘I am sorry/please’ were not registered in the studied Russian folktales. It is important to note that the absence of those phrases does not necessarily indicate a lack of courtesy and politeness during the historic epoch, but rather it had its own standards that were different from what can be observed in terms of the perspective of the twenty-first century. In the examined folktales, the most frequent phrases expressing request include the Imperative Mood in both positive and negative forms. The positive or negative connotation can be identified when the request is accompanied with an address form, which occurs very often in the selected folktales:

13. ‘Мамки-няньки! Собирайтесь, снаряжайтесь, приготовьте мягкий белый хлеб’ [Mamki-njan'ki! Sobirajtes', snarjazhajtes', prigotov'te mjagkij belyj hleb]. – ‘Dear nurses and faithful waitresses, come to me and bake a soft bread’ (The Frog Princess). 14. ‘Не ешь меня, Заяц/ Серый Волк/ Где тебе, косолапому, съесть меня!’ [Ne esh' menja, Zajac/ Seryj Volk/ Gde tebe, kosolapomu, s#est' menja!] – ‘Don’t eat me, Slant-Eyed Hare/Gray Wolf/Pigeon Toes!’ (The Bun). 15. ‘Люди добрые, заберите меня отсюда’ [Ljudi dobrye, zaberite menja otsjuda]. – ‘Good people! Take me along!’ (The Golden Mountain). 16. ‘Не тужи, царевич’ [Ne tuzhi, carevich]. – ‘Do not worry/ Do not be upset, Tsarevitch’ (The Frog Princess). 17. ‘Запрягай, старый хрыч, другую лошадь! Вези, вези мою дочь в лес на то же место[...]’ [Zaprjagaj, staryj hrych, druguju loshad'! Vezi, vezi moju doch' v les na to zhe mesto[...]]. – ‘Harness the horse, you old goat, and take my own daughter to the same spot in the forest’/ ‘Old man!’ (called the stepmother, impatiently); ‘hitch our best horses to our best sleigh, and drive my daughter to the very same place in the wide, wide fields.’ (Morozko).

As it has been observed, requests are expressed by the Imperative Mood in the Russian text, while they are represented by means of Modal Verbs ‘let’, ‘may’ in the English translation. Even though they have different semantics in the English language, the translator uses them to prompt an action or to ask for permission. The original texts have affirmative sentences which could be translated as ‘I want to drink, sister’, etc. But using the interrogative sentence ‘May I drink, sister’ creates a different language setting:

18. ‘Поехали, добрый молодец’ [Poehali, dobryj molodec]. – ‘Let us ride, good man’ (Woe Bogotir). 19. ‘Сестрица Аленушка, я пить хочу!/ хлебну я из копытца!’ [Sestrica Alenushka, ja pit' hochu!/ hlebnu ja iz kopytca!] – ‘May I drink from it [a cow’s hoof], sister? ‘I am dying of thirst, Sister Alyonushka’/ ‘Sister Alyonushka, I am thirsty. May I drink out of the hoof?’ (Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka).

The question form in this pattern expresses the desire of the brother better than using a mere statement. He tells his sister that he wants to drink, and at the same time, he asks for permission. Despite Alyonushka’s warning, Ivanushka’s thirst took over him, and it led to trouble. Persistence is described with logical emphasis in the form of a question. The Russian text possesses exclamatory sentences. A typical request form of Russian folktales includes the repetition of Imperative Verbs. The position of the verbs states what is more emphasized: the polite address form or the polite request.

20. ‘Вы летите, птицы, летите!’ [Vy letite, pticy, letite!] – ‘You birds, come, come!’/ ‘You crows and magpies, come, come!’ (Ivanoushka the Simpleton).

Apart from the above mentioned forms, in some folktales there are request forms that have connection with the expressions that occur in modern society and are used in fiction and in colloquial speech:

21. ‘Умоляю, скажите, где остров этот?’ [Umoljaju, skazhite, gde ostrov jetot?] – ‘How far is that island, pray’/ ‘I beg you, tell me’ (Seven Simeons).

The most frequently used expressions of language etiquette in Russian folktales are address forms. Interestingly, in the texts they appear not only in positive, but in the negative, and neutral forms as well. Many of the address forms are still in use in official styles today, while some of them might have a different meaning. Negative address forms are commonly used to demonstrate the relationship between the communicants, or the mood of the speaker:

22. ‘Ах, ты, старый пес!’ [Ah, ty, staryj pes!] – ‘You old fool!’ (Golden Fish).

In the English text of the folktale ‘Golden Fish’, the Russian word старик ‘old man’, was used in two forms: ‘What do you need, old man? Cheer up, old man!’ – when the fish talks to him, and ‘You old fool’ – when the wife talks to him. The English translation in this case describes the attitude of both the fish and the rude wife to the same man. On the other hand, he calls her simply старуха [staruha] ‘old woman’ which has a neutral meaning in English: ‘My old woman … wants to be the Queen’ (Golden Fish). To express the emotions of the speaker, rude address forms are used in the folktales, like when Ivan Tsarevitch said to Baba Yaga on his way to look for his wife:

23. ‘Ах ты, старая хрычовка’ [Ah ty, staraja hrychovka]. – ‘O thou old mischief’ (The Frog Princess).

Forms that include an adjective ‘old’ in family relations can be used with sarcastic meaning by elderly couples even today, in the same way as it is in the following example:

24. ‘Поди-ка, старуха, не наскребешь ли муки на колобок’ [Podi-ka, staruha, ne naskrebesh' li muki na kolobok]. –‘Old woman, look for some flour to bake me a bun’ (The Bun).

At present, a wife and a husband will hardly use these forms, though. Spouses rather call each other by their names, or sometimes ‘daddy’ or ‘mummy’, so their children get used to calling their parents using these terms from early childhood. In some cultures, grown-up children call their parents using their first names. In most cases, in Russian folktales one- word form (niece, wife) or seldom two/three components are used as address form (father dear, dear Tsarevitch, dear old man):

25. ‘Здравствуй, жена!’ [Zdravstvuj, zhena!] – ‘Hello, wife’ (Golden Fish). 26. ‘Здравствуй, тетушка. Послала меня мачеха к своей сестре’ [Zdravstvuj, tetushka. Poslala menja macheha k svoej sestre]. – ‘Dear auntie, stepmother sent me to her sister’ (Baba Yaga). 27. ‘Ну, милая, тебя-то мне и надобно!’ — сказала старуха, взяла лягушку и велела великанам себя и зятя домой отнесть’. [‘Nu, milaja, tebja-to mne i nadobno!’ — skazala staruha, vzjala ljagushku i velela velikanam sebja i zjatja domoj otnest']. – ‘Well, dear, that is just what I want to know’, said the old woman, and she took up the frog and bade the giants carry her and her son-in-law home. (Go I know Not Whither). 28. ‘Родимая моя’ [Rodimaja moja]. –‘Sweet girl’ (Baba Yaga).

29. ‘Котик-братик’ [Kotik-bratik]. – ‘Dear Kitty-cat black and pretty’ (Baba Yaga). 30. ‘Ах, батюшка’ [Ah, batjushka]. – ‘Ah, father dear’ (Baba Yaga). 31. ‘Дети мои милые, возьмите себе по стрелке’ [Deti moi milye, voz'mite sebe po strelke]. – ‘My dear boys, take each of you an arrow’ (The Frog Princess). 32. ‘Ох, Иван-царевич! Что же ты наделал’ [Oh, Ivan-carevich! Chto zhe ty nadelal?] –‘Oh, dear Tsarevitch, what hast thou done?’ (The Frog Princess). 33. ‘Родимые мои…, я понимаю песню соловьиную’ [Rodimye moi…, ja ponimaju pesnju solov'inuju]. – ‘Dear parents …, I understand the meaning of the nightingale’s song’ (The Language of the Birds). 34. ‘Что тебе, старик, надо?’ [Chto tebe, starik, nado?]. – ‘Dear old man, what can I do for thee?’ (Golden Fish).

Apart from the simple address forms (father, niece etc.), possessive pronouns and inversion forms are used to demonstrate the relationship of the communicants:

35. ‘Дети мои …, волю мою исполните’ [Deti moi …, volju moju ispolnite]. – ‘Dear children of mine …, you must fulfill my will’. (Ivanoushka the Simpleton)

Instead of ‘my dear children’ with the possessive determiner ‘my’, the construction ‘dear children of mine’ with the possessive pronoun ‘mine’ is used. Russian and English languages have an emphasis on the lexical unit ‘children’ and the attributive inversion creates an effect of importance of address in advance. The semantics of those sentences would be quite different if the pronoun determiner were used before the noun. Forms of praise are used in folktales to show how a person appreciates another person. Often there are several address forms to make the speech more elaborate, using the rank or the position of an addressee:

36. ‘Слуги мои верные’ [Slugi moi vernye]. – ‘My faithful workers’ (Seven Simeons).

When addressing a son, the following forms are used in folktales and they can be seen in current everyday speech as well:

37. ‘Что купил, сынок?’ [Chto kupil, synok?] – ‘What have you bought, my son?’ (The Magic Ring).

In some folktales, one can observe that the word ‘father’ is used in the Russian original text. (Some of these lexical units can be found in the modern society as well, when younger people address older people or vice versa.) In most of these cases the addressee is not the biological father of the communicant:

38. ‘Я, батюшка, выбираю себе мешок с мелким песочком.- Ну, свет, твоя добрая воля’ [Ja, batjushka, vybiraju sebe meshok s melkim pesochkom.- Nu, svet, tvoja dobraja volja]. – ‘I’ll take the sack of the sand, master. – Please yourself, my son’ (The Magic Ring). On the basis of the context it can be identified that the man in the following example is the biological father of the princess:

39. ‘Свет, ты мой батюшка’ [Svet, ty moj batjushka]. – ‘Dear father’ (The Magic Ring).

The English equivalent to render the meaning of the Russian word ‘свет’ (dear) can vary depending on the relations that the characters have between themselves. In Modern Russian, the form батюшка [batjushka] ‘father, daddy’ is not used by children anymore when they address their parents; instead, папа/отец [papa/otets] are more typical forms. But the archaic form батюшка [batjushka] ‘father’ is used while addressing a priest; the plural form is батюшки [batjushki]. Another construction with the same word expresses surprise in modern Russian: батюшки (мои)! [batjushki (moji)!] ‘good gracious!’. The word батюшка is used in the construction Как вас по батюшке (по отчеству)? [Kak vas po batjushke (po otchestvu)?] ‘What is your patronymic?’ {the name of the father which is formed by means of appropriate suffixes for males and females} (Dzyadyk 2017). This phrase is used in most cases to cause comic effect. This can also be heard in Russian movies to depict the language etiquette of the 18th-19th centuries. In the studied folktales, however, there are some address forms that can be considered as neutral:

40. ‘Спасибо, дядя, за подарок’ [Spasibo, djadja, za podarok]. – ‘Have my thanks, uncle, for thy gift’ (Dimian the Peasant). 41. ‘Прощай, хозяин/Подожди-ка, хозяин’ [Proshhaj, hozjain/Podozhdi-ka, hozjain]. – ‘Farewell, master’/ ‘Wait, master’ (Dimian the Peasant). 42. ‘Хочешь работы, молодец?’ [Hochesh raboty, molodec?] – ‘Dost thou look for work, good fellow?’ (The Golden Mountain).

Most of these address forms are still in use. They do not express any extra feelings between the communicants, though they refer to their relationship: дядя [djadja] – ‘uncle’; хозяин [hozjain] – ‘master’. As it has been demonstrated, forms of language etiquette such as greetings, address forms and requests are widely represented in Russian folktales. In recent times, their use in folktales is often different, but the context in which they occur is mostly the same. We can conclude that the tradition of the use of language maxims does not change as fast as the language itself.

Conclusion

Folktales are still popular both with children and grown-ups. They can be found in books. One can listen to them on radio and watch films or cartoons based on them. Folktales have a great success around the globe, and their characters inspire many people of different ages and socio-economic or geo-political backgrounds. They encourage children to grow up and become heroes; they motivate sculptors, film-makers, teachers and politicians. While humans exist, they need dreams, and folktales give hope, entertain and educate. Russian folktales are rich in phrases expressing language etiquette. Address forms are most frequent, while greetings and requests are used less in the selected folktales. The original language of the folktales was different from modern Russian language. Therefore, most of the folktales were adapted for the readers to understand and enjoy them. Even though some of the unchanged phrases of the folktales that express politeness are outmoded today, they are left in the texts and can be easily understood by native speakers.

Analysing the folktales in terms of language etiquette, it seems that the culture of being polite is relatively old. The conclusion of the authors of this paper, however, is that, in olden days people did not really use the address forms, greetings and requests to sound polite, but to achieve their target: to receive something or rather escape from an unpleasant situation. Though, in many cases, the use of forms of language etiquette is different from that of the heroes of the folktales and present-day people, the need for being polite is very similar. And yet, to use the most appropriate phrases in order to express politeness today is more difficult, because one has to follow many complex rules. This research can be used for further linguistic investigation in pragmatics, translation and cultural studies.

Notes

1Hungarian poet and collector of folk tales, (1844-1898) 2We distinguish between folktales and fairy tales, though they are related to each other. After examining Hungarian and Russian folktales, we identified very common characters in both folktales and fairy tales: magical animals, kings, princesses etc. However, fairy tales could be connected to an author, unlike the folktales. It is important to consider the ‘collectors’ of folktales, who were actually not their authors, such as the above mentioned Arany László of Hungary, the Grimm Brothers of Germany and Alexander Afanasyev of Russia.

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In SKASE Journal of Literary and Cultural Studies [online]. 2020, vol. 2, no. 1 [cit. 2020-06- 24]. Available on web page http://www.skase.sk/Volumes/SJLCS03/pdf_doc/03.pdf. ISSN 2644-5506.